Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-10-04
JOSEF H0FFMANF.
Tho Child Pianist Who Has Sat all Europe
Nnd with Excitement
London Sunday Times

Tho Child Pianist Who Has Sat AL Europe
Wild w.th Excitement
London Sunday Times.
The directors of the Philharmonic So
ciety did an excellent stroke OF business
when they secured little Josef Hoffman,
for their final concert OF the season. ST.
James Hall yesterday afternoon was
cremmed from end to end; every seat
was sold and many persons We're ulaoIe
to obtain admission. Among the audience
were the Crown Prince and Princess OF
Germany and their daughter and the Ouch
ess of Albany. The pr gram, 1t is true, wss
in every respect an attractive one. Such
vucalistS as Nine. Albani, Nine. Nevada
ard Mr.. Lloyd are not often TO be heard
at one OF these concerts, while Men
delssohn's beautiful "Italiann symphony,
with Weber's "Jubilee" overture, and
Sullivan's "OuvertUre di Ballo," helped
10 make up genuinely popular selection.
But the resi- feature of the day-the piece
de resistance that drew IN eager and eX-
peCtant crowd YVES Josef Hoffman,.
Amateurs had heard what the little won
der could do 5y himself; end they wanted
TO hear him with an orchestra and, if pos
sible, marvel more than before st the
extraordinary power Of the juvenile
phenomenon. To the boy the task wss
not new. He had alresdy played Beetho-
ven's concerto in G, No. three times on
the Continent and also the same masters
later concerto in minor. This did not
make it less extraordinary in the minds
of Yesterdays audience that child OF ten
should undertake to perform from the
memory with orchestrs a pianoforte con-
certo by 9eethoven-a vastly Different
thing, as l ueed not stay to point cut, 10
the execution of succession of pieces at
8 recital, although that, truly, is marvel
| Gus enough.
And how did Josef Hoffman ges through
the Growing ordeal?e With lust as much
ease and certainty, rs much intelligence
and self possession, as any other task
have seen him undertake. The crowdsS
room, the presence of royalty, did nos IL
the least affect him. Walking uneen-
csrnedly on 20 the platform. Josef
bowed thrice in his usual stolid manner
nodded to Sir Arthur Sullivan as Coon as
he had taken his seat to signify that he
vas ready, quietly waited whilst the TUT
was played, and dashed off with
the opening allegro with SIS much
saDS llOII do LIOuSH AC hGt DCCH ~
ing this kind of thing all his life
The firmEess and decision of his touct
end the volume of tone he produced from
the piano seemed by comparison more as
founding than ever. It was plein that tn
lad reveled in his power. he is thor
ough boy, with true boyish sense of hu
;; NOR, and there were moments when b
, seemed to be treating the whole bushes
, as huge joke. Again and again
,, watched him as ne brillisntly finished oil
, eschsdifficult psssage-ior there are diff
, cult passages in the first concerto @
Beethoven's-turns his eyes towar
the Crown Princess, who was i'm
mediatelY beneath him, and return he
: half-amused, half-wondering smile with
r merry twinkle. Then, sober as e judg
: once more, ne would be ready to come /
!, at the right instant, never missing mott
e never hurrying passage, never losin
4 grasp Of his theme, never failing to e.
ecute scales, shakes, turns and graces {